Chapter 23: Searching

The viewers in the Live Stream Room burst into laughter, never expecting to encounter these two jokers the moment they tuned in.

“Thanks, I needed that laugh. Also, congrats on the wedding, you two are a perfect match.”

“Welcome to Episode 1 of ‘From Resentful Wealthy Q to Lonely Boudoir Widow Q’.”

“Lu Xun: I won’t allow you to ruin the name Ah Q like this.”

“Looking at the character ID, is that the newbie powerhouse from last time? She’s even got an Inspector with her, definitely a newcomer.”

“The powerhouse’s score went up again so quickly? It was only 92 last time.”

“The progress here is so fast, they’re already fully in character. In the next Live Stream Room, the other two are still introducing themselves and fighting for control of the Instance.”

“In character as what? The overbearing CEO and his dowdy wife? Or ‘My Years of Infertility’?”

“Are the viewers always this savage nowadays?”

“Little spoil… Little explosive wife. Brother Q looks like he’s about to lose his mind.”

·

He Jueyun was indeed about to lose his mind.

He went to the utility room to grab a broom and vigorously swept up the porcelain shards on the floor. Then, he gave the spilled soup a quick wipe with a rag, cleaning the area just enough to look presentable before leaving the rest to the robotic vacuum.

He did not know if he was angry at himself or at Qiong Cang, but in the end, all his fury was destined to be taken out on the reckless brat working under him back at the office.

Ultimately, it took a harsh dose of reality to make employees appreciate the greatness of their boss.

With one hand on his hip, He Jueyun yanked the refrigerator door open and found it stocked with frozen food.

Although he rarely did housework, he at least knew how to heat food. He Jueyun pulled the items out, transferred them to bowls, and popped them into the oven and microwave.

While waiting for the food to heat up, He Jueyun managed to calm down.

He went back to the living room, found the phone sitting in the corner of the table, and leaned against it as he scrolled through the chat history.

Like many housewives, Li Yujia had a very narrow social circle. Her recent call logs consisted of either unsaved, unfamiliar numbers, her family, the part-time maid she hired, or contacts labeled as the hospital.

Her search apps were protected by privacy settings, which also yielded no significant clues.

Just as He Jueyun was about to dig deeper, a series of electronic beeps chimed from the kitchen, reminding him that breakfast was ready.

Carrying the arranged tray upstairs, He Jueyun kicked open the study door with his foot. He was greeted by the sight of Qiong Cang slouched in the desk chair, her legs propped up high as she flipped through a magazine. She looked exactly like a trust-fund baby squandering her life away.

No wonder she was poor. If she actually had money, wouldn’t her ego inflate to the point of exploding?

He Jueyun slammed the tray onto the desk and urged, “Eat.”

Qiong Cang lifted her eyelids, gave him a look of disgust, and raised the magazine higher to block him from view.

“Oh, come on!” He Jueyun was exasperated by her blatant look of contempt. “Are you going to starve to death in this game or something? You were the one insisting on eating just now. Don’t you dare say you don’t want it anymore!”

“What do you mean by that? Do you know who I am?” Qiong Cang tossed the magazine onto the desk and slapped the surface hard to emphasize her point. “I am a well-known young entrepreneur who has been featured in mainstream financial magazines nine times and invited for personal TV interviews. I was selected as one of our city’s Top Ten Outstanding Youth and am one of the most commercially promising entrepreneurs of our generation. Got it?”

He Jueyun got goosebumps all over. Unable to take it anymore, he said, “…Are you done playing around yet?”

“Playing? Roleplay starts with understanding the person. I am working very seriously,” Qiong Cang said. “Though, Wu Ming’s life is indeed quite interesting.”

Spread across the desk in front of Qiong Cang was a collection of magazines and newspapers, and every open page featured Wu Ming’s heavily airbrushed face.

Even if Wu Ming was considered handsome by general standards, seeing so many copies of his face lined up side by side felt a bit psychotic.

Qiong Cang lowered her legs, spun her chair halfway around, and stopped at a certain spot. Pointing to it, she explained to He Jueyun, “Many of the newspapers and magazines in Wu Ming’s study are placed right next to where he sits. And on the desk, his most recent interview reports are laid out. His employees, himself-basically any news or interview related to him, he saved all of it.”

He Jueyun had already noticed. The sheer volume was indeed substantial.

Qiong Cang said, “Wu Ming frequently accepted interviews, regardless of the size of the publication, and kept all of them within arm’s reach. This shows he was very proud of it. He enjoyed his career success and loved being the center of attention. Looking at his personal history, he also tried to be an internet influencer in his early years, but because he couldn’t let loose, it didn’t work out. Only then did he transition to working behind the scenes.”

He Jueyun said, “It shows he’s a narcissist.”

“Correct. He has a certain level of vanity, likes luxury goods, and cares deeply about saving face. That’s why the decor of this entire villa is somewhat ostentatious.” Qiong Cang pulled a newspaper with a dog-eared corner from the bottom of a stack of books and slid it forward for He Jueyun to see. “Judging by the tone and content of his answers to this reporter’s questions, he is a sensitive person. When the reporter asked questions that displeased him or were relatively sharp, his responses became confrontational. And he particularly hated anyone mentioning his childhood and past. This indicates he despised his formerly impoverished self. He views his past as a dark history.”

As He Jueyun picked it up, he asked in surprise, “You read through all these newspapers and magazines in such a short time?”

“Of course not,” Qiong Cang said. “Anything he stored neatly in plain sight is bound to be flattering nonsense. Reading those is a waste of time. The ones he buried deep at the bottom, yet couldn’t bring himself to throw away, are the ones that actually contain real information.”

It was precisely this ability to filter and process information, paired with her casual tone, that made her incredibly infuriating.

You couldn’t admit your own stupidity in front of her, so you could only remain silent.

He Jueyun carefully examined the interview draft in his hand.

The publisher was an authoritative newspaper, and the interview had taken place early in his career. Back then, Wu Ming was likely just starting to make a name for himself, and he must have been thrilled to be interviewed. So, even though the content made him slightly uncomfortable, he had still kept it.

He didn’t have his current status back then, so the reporter’s questions were relatively sharp.

Reading between the lines of the interview, it was clear that the reporter wanted to portray a “grassroots background, hot-blooded and inspirational” figure. Unfortunately, Wu Ming hated being associated with the word “grassroots.” As a result, the entire interview became highly amusing, deeply reflecting Wu Ming’s resistance and the reporter’s speechlessness.

Qiong Cang chuckled. “So this is the world of mature men. I see a lot of lowbrow tastes.”

She pulled the breakfast tray toward herself, spreading her hands. “Why is there no milk for breakfast?”

He Jueyun was still reading the paper. “Because the world of mature men has long been weaned,” he said flatly.

Qiong Cang: “…” She felt targeted.

.

Qiong Cang lowered her head to eat breakfast while scrolling through the chat logs on the phone. He Jueyun sat down on a small sofa nearby, doing the same work.

However, Li Yujia’s phone was an old model with few apps, so there was really not much for him to check.

After a while, He Jueyun got up to search the hostess’s bag in the master bedroom. By the time he returned, Qiong Cang had also just come out of the study.

He Jueyun asked, “Find anything?”

“Nothing very important. The computer in the study doesn’t have much work-related content. This suggests he is likely a man who doesn’t care much for home. Besides, Wu Ming is very cautious. He regularly clears his chat logs, keeping some work-related messages but almost no personal topics.” Qiong Cang rubbed the muscles at the back of her neck and handed the phone over. “I believe he isn’t afraid of Li Yujia checking his phone. The reason he does this might be because there is content in his chat logs that makes even him feel ashamed, or perhaps it’s out of pure habit? This is unclear for now. But among the deleted content, there might be something related to the case.”

He Jueyun took the phone, glanced at it, and handed it back to her.

Qiong Cang sidestepped past him and continued walking out. He Jueyun instinctively followed.

The two found the safe in the house.

The safe was located in a corner, with a line of black password digits marked in midair by the system.

Qiong Cang squatted down, entered the password, and pulled open the door.

The top shelf of the safe contained jewelry and the like. Qiong Cang took them out and placed them to the side.

The middle and bottom shelves were stacked with various documents, all preserved in brown folders.

Wu Ming was probably someone who disliked throwing things away. He had kept all kinds of important documents, whether they were still useful or not, organized by year.

Perhaps he would never use or look at them again, but he couldn’t bear to throw them away.

Qiong Cang took them out one by one, spread them out on the floor, and roughly scanned the contents of the contracts.

Those old bank receipts, copies of loan contracts, photocopies of property deeds, and other documents clearly exposed the past that Wu Ming wanted to hide.

He Jueyun said, “Although Li Yujia’s family background was ordinary, it was much better than Wu Ming’s back then. Her parents were both working, and they had two houses. Wu Ming was definitely marrying up.”

Qiong Cang nodded. “After graduation, Wu Ming worked in the self-media¹ industry, wanting to develop an influencer economy. His expenses for buying cameras, cosmetics, and paying for advertising operations must have all been funded by Li Yujia.”

“The two million Wu Ming needed to start his company was provided by Li Yujia mortgaging her parents’ property.” He Jueyun picked up a document from the floor. “The legal representative of the company isn’t Wu Ming or Li Yujia, but Wu Ming’s mother. How on earth did he convince Li Yujia?”

Qiong Cang added, “The villa they are living in now is also registered under Wu Ming’s mother’s name, without Li Yujia’s name. It seems that even if they divorce, Li Yujia won’t get much out of it.”

Qiong Cang put the things down and remarked dryly, “The successful woman behind this supposedly billionaire successful man, Wu Ming, actually isn’t Li Yujia, but his own mother.” Her tone was filled with disbelief.

In just over ten minutes, at a speed that the viewers in the Live Stream Room had yet to process, the two of them sorted through all the contents in the document bags and extracted several key clues.

As Qiong Cang packed the things back, she analyzed, “He is very rude to Li Yujia. First, it might be because they have been married for many years without children, and their feelings have faded. Another point is likely his intense pride at play, making him unwilling to admit that he once relied on her financial support. It’s even possible that their relationship wasn’t very pure from the very beginning.”

He Jueyun nodded.

There was no doubt about this.

After Qiong Cang finished speaking, her hands suddenly stopped, and she stared at him without blinking.

He Jueyun felt a chill down his spine. “What?”

“You know, from the perspective of our game identities, I don’t actually trust you. From the moment I saw that medical report on the coffee table, I believed you had a sufficient motive for murder,” Qiong Cang said seriously. “At the very least, I wouldn’t be able to tolerate a man like Wu Ming for years.”

He Jueyun said without changing his expression, “Then seeing these documents now, you should be even more certain. What do you want to do? Separate?”

Qiong Cang shook her head. “No, I am still willing to share the various clues I’ve found with you.”

He Jueyun scoffed. “For what? Want to keep carrying me to an easy win?”

“No, if you really are the Murderer, I also have the confidence to find decisive evidence and stop you before you act.” Qiong Cang paused, a strange smile playing on her lips. “This is the indulgence of an outstanding, unweaned² man toward his woman.”

He Jueyun: “…”

Unable to control his strength, he ripped the paper to shreds.

He Jueyun grimaced in anger, throwing the papers down and cursing, “Are you fucking out of your mind?!”

·

The viewers in the Live Stream Room sent a string of ellipses.

“With just one sentence, she completely ruined the atmosphere of the Live Stream Room and dragged down her own cool image. What on earth is she thinking?”

“Is this teasing or flirting? The world of top players is so wild, she actually dares to flirt with the Murderer in a death Instance.”

“The speed of gathering clues here is so fast. The viewers in the neighboring Live Stream Room are still on their way to the hospital to check for infertility.”

“Do 93-point top players read documents this fast? By the time she turned the page, I had only just finished the first paragraph.”

“Standard procedure, just standard procedure. New viewers, calm down. This top player is a beast who read through a high school senior’s homework books and scratch paper in a single day.”

“Prime Murderer Candidate: Li Yujia. According to this setup, the case doesn’t seem to have any difficult points, does it? How on earth did Sanyao adapt this?”

“This is a marriage-phobia tutorial Instance. 【Suffocation】”

·

After putting everything back into the safe, Qiong Cang also returned to her bedroom to change out of her pajamas.

Although Qiong Cang had not suggested they sleep in separate rooms, He Jueyun, in a fit of anger, locked himself in the study next door.

Qiong Cang went over and knocked on the door, saying, “Brother Q, do you know how to drive? Give me a ride. I want to take this opportunity to buy a few security cameras.”

He Jueyun came over and pulled the door open. “You don’t know how to drive?”

Qiong Cang gave a mocking smirk. “For someone of my noble status, how could I possibly go out…”

“Bang!”

The door slammed shut ruthlessly in her face.

Qiong Cang rubbed her nose and knocked on the door again.

He Jueyun stood behind the door with a cold expression. Qiong Cang said, “Yes, I don’t know how to drive.”

He Jueyun said crossly, “Wait a moment then. I’ll change my clothes.”

The author has something to say:

As written in the first two chapters, this case has already been solved, and it was confirmed that the Murderer was not Fan Huai. However, the public still doubted its authenticity, which is why this Instance was created.

Translator’s Notes